


An unknown emotion (entrust yourself to it)

by charons_boat



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Being Saved, Damsel in Distress, Different types of sirens, He has a tragic past, He's a Good Boy, Life or Death Situation, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sirens, a cutie tho, and raises fish, and urchins, baskingshark!sehyoon, being isolated, but only the moving a lot part, except yuchan is a siren, he farms, he has a network of liddol tunnels that are his home, he is alone a lonely boy, he is best boy, he knows a lot about life, he's like a farmer, he's not a hunter-gatherer he's a farmer-trader, hidden past, junhee has explored the world, kelp, migratory sharkies, nervousshark!yuchan, not very trusting but he comes around, perhaps i projected just the tiniest bit, shark sirens, the others are bigger than yuchan, thresher!junhee, tigershark!byeongkwan, very large donghun, very smol yuchan, whaleshark!donghun, yuchan gets spooked a lot, yuchan getting spooked by donghun, yuchan trades in the market
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: Sirens are dangerous, yes, but they're painfully human at times too. They have thoughts, feelings, desires. They have fears and they are able to hold hatred for one another. They wage war and forge peace.Yuchan wants no part of anything remotely dangerous. He just wants to be ignored for the most part. The occasional pang in his heart, the one that comes from loneliness... he ignores it; it doesn't matter enough to warrant his attention.
Relationships: Kang Yuchan | Chan/Lee Donghun, Lee Donghun & Kim Sehyoon | Wow & Park Junhee | Jun & Kim Byeongkwan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elutherya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elutherya/gifts), [discountghost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/discountghost/gifts).



> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG i couldn't really figure out how to start it until suddenly I felt like writing it during school :(( i hope you two enjoy this though
> 
> warning for fighting and being unable to breathe for a short bit and also almost dying

The sirens of myth are fierce, beautiful, _terrible_ monsters with a nasty habit of singing in tones so alluring and haunting that you can't help but jump into the sea when you hear their song.

The reality… is a bit different. Most sirens are dangerous, yes, but only in the same way humans are. We can be greedy or protective. We have desires and thoughts and feelings, and sometimes we wage war.

The most well-known sirens are the scaled sirens, who are called mermaids by the humans. They're generally calm and peaceful and are always willing to help. There are the mammals, like those with the tails of whales or dolphins, who sometimes help men out on the ocean, whether it's with fishing or violent storms. The sirens closest to myth are those sharp-toothed, predatory sirens with a name that's been generalized to one word: _sharks_.

Everyone knows that shark sirens are all teeth and no voice, prone to attacking before asking questions of anyone. Almost every single siren of that sort, whether they've got the tail of a shark or not, is avoided like the plague. Deep-sea sirens, like anglers and sperm whales, are never really seen but are called sharks anyways: they *are* just as dangerous, after all.

No one calls me a _shark_ , even though I am one. Then again, I don't start fights or bare my teeth; I rarely speak above a loud whisper and always try to keep to myself. Everyone knows me as the _trader_ instead because I make a living off of exchanging kelp and livestock for the things I need. Everyone says that my fish and my urchins are the best they've ever tasted, and though I'm not quite friends with anyone, I know they treat me more kindly than they do some of the others. I've never met another nervous shark like myself, let alone another shark siren, and I _really_ hope it stays that way.

* * *

  
Aus is a place of warm waters and colorful reefs. The community I live in is fairly welcoming and open while being all the safer for its noticeable lack of the more dangerous sort of sirens. I've heard that farther out and towards the sun either way, there are packs of sharks and mammals both, though there's rarely news of the mammals aside from the occasional obituary or announcement of new life. There are plenty of stories about the sharks, of attacks and sailors gone overboard during storms, never to be seen again, or children swept out to sea by a grasping, _relentless_ current.

No one has seen a _real_ shark siren in my part of Aus for years, since before I was born and my parents left or were killed--I don't know which one is the truth, or if it's something else entirely because none of the others will tell me what happened to them. I stopped caring a long time ago because I knew I would never learn the truth of the matter unless someone suddenly changed their mind and spilled what might be the best-kept secret of our little community.

The good thing about being so much smaller than everyone else is the fact that I take up less space: I don't need to eat as much so I have more to sell, I can get into smaller places so I'm relatively safer, I'm a _little bit_ faster so I can outswim threats. All of this means that when I spot the massive siren outside the kelp forest--a siren who can only be a shark, considering they're at least thrice as long as I am, surely--I'm among the kelp in mere seconds and am speeding toward the small, underwater cave entrance hidden by the tall stalks of the kelp forest surrounding it. I've always been glad I'm small because it means my homes are small, too, cozy and comfortable, and hard for the bigger sirens to get into. I never really have to worry about being robbed, aside from the childish pranks of younger sirens who haven't grown into their size yet.

My heart is hammering a frantic beat as I drift back and forth in the gentle current, watching and waiting to see what'll happen. I can hear the other siren's heartbeat in the utter stillness, a dull _thud-thud-thud_ that's slow and steady. The currents swirl as the siren passes above the entrance of my home, and I carefully push myself deeper into the cave. A soft murmur drifts down to me, but I can't make out any of the words.

It's not near soon enough when the shark leaves. I wait until the only noise I can hear is my own heart, and then I carefully swim forward and peek outside. I take as long as I can, carefully checking that the other siren is gone. No one beyond the kelp, and no one waiting to attack from above or below. I check the pens and find all the fish are still there, and I breathe out a sigh with my hand over my heart. I'm glad that the kelp blocks out the scent of my fish.

* * *

  
The market is busy as ever, the sun high in the sky as its light filters down through the water, splashing spots of light onto everything below the surface. The fish in my net sack swim along with me, trying to keep up. The urchins stay near motionless in another net sack, and kelp lays heavy and limp against my back. Sirens dart in between each other, visiting stalls and trading goods. Though it's wild and chaotic, the market is one of my favorite places.

My stall is somewhere near the middle, a small construction of wood and metal from nearby shipwrecks. As I slow down and swim into the stall, I hook the fishnet sacks on their hooks--fish to my left, urchins to the right--and slide the kelp bag off my back. The bag stays pressed to my chest as I fold the kelp into their boxes. Once everything is set up, I settle back onto the rock I keep near the back of the little stall, stretching out my tail. I can't help but hum happily as I admire the speckles of sunlight on my light grey tail, and I smile when I notice the fish dancing to my tune.

"Your smile is beautiful," someone says. My eyes scrunch up as I smile wider, and I open them to say thank you; I stop short when I see the person in front of my stall.

It's a massive siren, bigger than any I've ever seen--except for yesterday when I spotted that siren outside my kelp forest. His tail is mostly hidden by the front edge of my stall, but he's got very pale freckles on his face and neck, and I can see the barest flash of a blue-grey tail covered in white spots and lines. His hair is a blue-grey as well, and his eyes are big and dark. He looks nice; I'm terrified.

"Are you okay? You look kinda pale," the siren says. He has to be at least thrice my size, this I can tell even more clearly when he's not so far away. He had been smiling, but as I continue to stare at him with wide eyes and a pounding heart, his smile dims and he looks more and more worried. "Say something," he pleads. His voice is quiet and desperate and scared.

"Y-you're a sh-sh-shark," I choke out. He furrows his eyebrows and glances at my tail.

"You are too," he says. He sighs. "Don't be scared of me. I'm just a whale shark. I mean sure, I'm really big, but I don't use all the teeth. I probably couldn't bite and _hurt_ anyone even if I wanted to, which I don't."

"W-we don't have other sharks here. Th-they're dangerous," I whisper. The other siren gasps.

"You're a nervous shark, aren't you? I'm so sorry I scared you, I didn't mean to! But… you aren't dangerous, are you?" I shake my head quickly. "Then I'm not either," he says decisively.

The silence is almost deafening, but then someone swims by quickly and bumps into the shark siren. I flinch, expecting anger, but he just smiles kindly and apologizes for taking up so much room. The simple encounter relaxes me, and I let my shoulders slump. My heartbeat begins to slow as I stare at the shark; he's still smiling gently when he looks at me again.

"I'm Yuchan. Kang Yuchan. People around here don't call me a shark, though." The other siren cocks his head and carefully leans on the edge of the rickety stall.

"What do they call you, then," he asks quietly. The light glints off a shiny bit of metal in his nose. "Oh, and I'm Lee Donghun." He says his name like it’s an afterthought, like it's not important.

"They call me trader, Donghun. Would you… like to trade me something?"

* * *

  
"I mean, sure, you _could_ call me a hunter, but considering that I raise my own food, I really don't hunt anything. If I wanted to eat something I don't grow, I just trade for it, so honestly, I'm more of a trader-farmer than a hunter-gatherer, Donghun." The giant siren smiles and hums, calmly treading water right outside the main entrance to my cave home. I still haven't found any ledges big enough for Donghun to rest on comfortably.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right. You win this round," he concedes. I pump my fists over my head in triumph and use a shard of metal to make another tally in the wall under my name. Donghun laughs so much that he stops treading and begins to sink towards the ocean floor. I catch his arm and pull him back up, smiling so widely my cheeks hurt.

And then, I smell a shark.

The moment the scent enters my nose, I let go of Donghun and push myself farther into the cave. At some point I flip myself around and press my stomach to the rough ground, staring out towards the open sea.

"Chan? What happened? Did I do someth--"

"Donghun!" The shout is joyous and loud, and a shape blurs past the cave entrance. There's a quiet _oof_ from Donghun as the other siren tackles(? hugs?) him. "Watcha doin' 'ere? Oh, this issa cute cave, li'l small though, don'tcha think?"

"Byeongkwan, get away from there!" Donghun doesn't quite shout, but his voice is firm.

"Wh--"

"It's important that you don't try to go in there, okay?" His voice is a bit softer now. "You scared the person who lives here."

"Oh. I did?" The shark siren, who I assume is _Byeongkwan_ , sounds perplexed.

"Yeah, he's really skittish…" Donghun doesn't sound upset about that. His hand carefully folds over the lip of my cave, and he peeks in. I doubt he can see me. "Yuchan, this is my friend, Byeongkwan. He _is_ a tiger shark, but his tail got caught in a fishing net a few years ago, so you're much faster than him. Kwannie is very nice, though he can be really energetic at times, and he definitely won't hurt you. Would you like to meet him?"

I pull him myself forward just a bit, and then a little more. Tentatively, I reach out and brush my fingers over the ends of Donghun's; after a moment, I grab his hand and press my back against the side of the cave. Donghun peeks over the edge again and grins widely, showing off rows of tiny, useless teeth.

"Where's your friend," I ask quietly. Donghun looks to the side and nods towards me. The new siren floats into view next to Donghun and smiles sheepishly at me.

"Hi. I'm Byeongkwan. Is this your kelp?" I nod, and he smiles too. Byeongkwan's teeth are short, broad, and serrated, and look very sharp. The tips point sideways which is kind of weird. "It's very pretty! It looks healthy."

"Thank you," I whisper. "I kind of… grew it? I don't know, but I put a lot of work into it. I uhm… I'm Yuchan. Sorry for like, hiding, I guess. Sharks are scary." The siren sighs as he runs a hand through his blueish hair.

"I guess living in Aus can make you think that. We aren't _all_ bad though. Donghun and Sehyoon, another friend of ours, are really more like mammals than they are sharks. They've both got pretty useless teeth for biting." He's silent for a moment, and then he looks right at me and smiles. "I think it's really impressive that you smelled me before I realized you were here." I can't help but blush at that.

* * *

  
Sometimes, you find your life becoming boring. It's at times like these, I've found, that life throws you a bone--or, in my case, _another_ shark siren.

This one is a thresher, something I can immediately tell from the overly-long tail fin he's got. He _is_ rather pretty I suppose, even as a purple and silver-grey blur in the water that I can hardly see: he's hunting--or herding, I guess--a school of fish, whipping them with his tail and darting out a slender hand to grab the stunned fish. I watch as he slices one in half with a flick of his tail, and the school darts off to safety. The water is still one more--at least, as still as the ocean can be.

I'd heard from Donghun and Byeongkwan that there are two other shark sirens in the area, a thresher and a basking shark. I almost want to leave my hiding place and go say hi, see if he's the friend Donghun and Byeongkwan mentioned, but even knowing that it's a possibility… I'm still scared.

The siren just kind of… stops, when he finishes eating. He faces the sky, the surface, and lets himself float in the current. Then, he does something I've never done: he breaches. The siren propels himself towards the surface with powerful strokes of his long tail and fin and he entirely leaves the water. He crashes back down and is smiling widely as he flips over and drifts towards the floor. Once he's calmed down again, he stares once more. Curious, I swim up and poke my head above the surface. For a brief moment, I'm alone up there. The sky is very blue and the sun burns against my skin. Far off in the distance, in the direction of the reef and the market, there's a giant, flat-topped mountain rising from the ocean.

And then the siren jumps out of the water again. He brings with him a curtain of sparkling water drops; with his arms spread wide, he looks like he has a shimmering set of wings. The moment is just… _wow_. When the siren falls back into the ocean, a ring of water is thrown up, and it rains down over me and the rest of the empty ocean surface.

"It's beautiful up here," someone says. I shriek and turn, my heart hammering. The siren grins widely at me, and I nod slightly. "I'm Junhee: Donghun's friend. Are--"

"What about Byeongkwan," I ask. Junhee nods, laughing slightly.

"Him too, and Sehyoon, though I'm not sure you've met him yet. Are you Yuchan?"

"I am," I whisper. I inhale and start coughing, not used to how dry it is up here. Junhee gently drags me under the water, and I smile gratefully at him. "Uhm, your tail-- ah… you're very pretty." My cheeks burn bright red as I say it. Junhee thanks me quietly. After a moment, he quietly explains that it's easier to keep my nose submerged so I'll be breathing water no matter what, and then we peek at the surface again, and Junhee tells me about the time he went onto the mass of land by the reef. He says it's called Australia, and that it's full of humans: beings who look like we do, except that they have two things called _legs_ instead of tails and fins. The thresher tells me how painful it had been to shrink down to a more human size and have his tail replaced with legs. I think it's enough to hear the story from him

* * *

  
Never had seeing another shark siren brought me so much joy; it's not even Donghun, and yet I'm nearly crying.

You see, I'd done something stupid: I saw something shiny and thought Donghun might like it (some time ago, he'd professed to having a love for strange items), so I swan out to grab it. Only… it was far out from my cave and the kelp forest, mostly buried in the loose sand and mud on the ocean floor. It was out where the fishermen pull their nets.

I found, about half an hour ago, that the nets hurt. I'm lucky my skin is thick because otherwise, I'd be bleeding by now. The net stops going forward, only to start going up. It's over, then; I'm not getting out of this. I start screaming and crying because what else can I do?

Up, up, up… towards the surface, where I once learned about the fishermen from Junhee. I'd thought then that I never wanted to go on land, but I suppose I'll have to, now. Junhee said it hurt. Will the humans put me back, or will they imprison me as Junhee suggested? For a brief moment, I begin to mourn the fact that I may never again see Donghun and his-- _my_ friends. They'd become my friends, I realize.

And finally, _finally_ , I meet Sehyoon with the sound of fraying rope and a tug on my fin that frees me from the netted trap. Once he sees my wide eyes, Sehyoon begins to back away with his hands up, but I barrel forward and hug him as tightly as I can, whispering _thank you_ 's in a fervent, unending stream.

"Donghun and the others are waiting at your cave," he whispers. I let him pull me along and take the opportunity to observe. He's a darker shade of blue-grey than Donghun, and he's not as big, though he *is* still around two and a half times my size. Sharkish skin creeps up his spine, all the way to his neck and over his cheeks, fading into softer, paler skin around and above his eyes. It's been a while since I saw a siren who was almost more shark than human. The last person was--

_"Why now? He's just started to make friends, and we can't ruin that for him!"_

_"He doesn't need friends! This place is ruining him! The attack happens at dawn!"_

\--my father.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for mentions of fighting, bombs, explosions, and being buried under rubble

Kang Yuchan fits the stereotype of a "nervous shark" a little _too_ well. Could you blame him, though, when his parents were wanted criminals in most communities? He hardly even knew this; he just knew they had to move a lot, often leaving destruction in their wake.

He was something like seven years old when they moved to Aus. Back then, they lived in a big cave about a five minutes' swim from the market. Yuchan had _loved_ Aus, and this alone was enough to convince his mother that they needed to stay and stop causing trouble.

For a year, his mother was able to stall and distract Yuchan's father. For a year, Yuchan knew peace and an almost-loving home.

After a year had passed, Yuchan's father finally tired of waiting and planned his next attack. He told his wife to leave with their son, as they always did. She tried to fight back, to get him to stop and let them stay. _Just one more year_ , she pleaded. Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

The plan was ruined, however, because of Aus's neighborhood watch and the secret militia. Yuchan's parents died in the fighting, and his home collapsed because of a bomb his parents' organization had planted. Yuchan was buried under the rubble, not to be dug out until the next morning.

He was given one of the smaller homes on the edge of Aus, and ever-after that night they've called him _traitor_.

He grew up alone and began his trading, entirely ignorant of what his parents had done. He slowly bought more of the land around his small tunnel-network home and thought the isolation forced upon him to be kindness. By the time Donghun and his traveling squad first came to Aus, the community's burning hatred for Yuchan had mellowed into indifference and only the slightest acceptance.

A tragic tale, no? Well, it does have a happy end. Donghun and his friends were more of the migratory kind than Yuchan. The first departure, Sehyoon's, was done with many tears. He would end up making his way towards the bottom of what humans call Africa, and would shortly be followed by Junhee and Byeongkwan. Donghun would be the last to leave, giving Yuchan a kiss and a promise to return every year. Yuchan, with dense tears trailing down his face, laughed as the whale shark lifted the traces of sadness with dozens of gentle presses of lips against skin.

His community had called him a traitor for years (although he didn't understand the truth of the title), but as he and the citizens of Aus sent off the last visitor, they all thought that maybe the only traitor was Yuchan's heart. It had, after all, fallen in love with the kind of siren Yuchan feared most.

**Author's Note:**

> im on twt @sunwooseok_ come yell at me I like comments and friends


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